Engineering PapersSearch

Engineering topics

Veruttipong, W.

Publications and source records attributed to Veruttipong, W..

Compensation of Gravity-Induced Structural Deformations on a Beam- Waveguide Antenna Using a Deformable Mirror

At the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) Goldstone Complex, a 34-meter- diameter beam-waveguide antenna, DSS-13, was constructed in 1988-1990 and has become an integral part of an advanced systems program and a test bed for technologies being developed to introduce Ka-band (32 GHz) frequencies into the DSN. A method for compensating the gravity- induced structural deformations in this large antenna is presented.

technologies DSN

X-/Ka-band dichroic plate noise temperature reduction

The X-/Ka-band (8.4 GHz/32.0 GHz) dichroic plate installed as DSS 13 contributes an estimated 3 K to the system noise temperature at 32.0 GHz. Approximately 1 percent of the Ka-band incident field is reflected by the plate into the 300-K environment of the DSS-13 pedestal room. A low-cost, easily implemented method of reducing the noise temperature is presented. Using a curved reflector, the reflected field can be re-focused into an 80-K cold load, reducing the noise temperature contribution of the dichroic plate by about 2 K.

Veruttipong, W.

RF optics study for DSS-43 ultracone implementation

The Ultracone feed system will be implemented on DSS 43 to support the S-band (2.3 GHz) Galileo contingency mission. The feed system will be installed in the host country's cone, which is normally used for radio astronomy, VLBI, and holography. The design must retain existing radio-astronomy capabilities, which could be impaired by shadowing from the large S-band feed horn. Computer calculations were completed to estimate system performance and shadowing effects for various configurations of the host country's cone feed systems. Also, the DSS-43 system performance using higher gain S-band horns was analyzed. A new S-band horn design with improved return loss and cross-polarization characteristics is presented.

Lee, P.

Design and implementation of a beam-waveguide mirror control system for vernier pointing of the DSS-13 antenna

The design and implementation of an antenna beam-waveguide (BWG) mirror position control system at the DSS-13 34-m antenna is presented. While it has several potential applications, a positioner on the last flat-plate BWG mirror (M6) at DSS 13 is installed to demonstrate the conical scan (conscan) angle-tracking technique at the Ka-band (32-GHz) operating frequency. Radio frequency (RF) beam-scanning predictions for the M6 mirror, computed from a diffraction analysis, are presented. From these predictions, position control system requirements are then derived. The final mechanical positioner and servo system designs, as implemented at DSS 13, are illustrated with detailed design descriptions given in the appendices. Preliminary measurements of antenna Ka-band beam scan versus M6 mirror tilt made at DSS 13 in December 1993 are presented. After reduction, the initial measurements are shown to be in agreement with the RF predicts. Plans for preliminary conscan experimentation at DSS 13 are summarized.

Alvarez, L. S.

Determining noise temperatures in beam waveguide systems

A new 34-m research and development antenna was fabricated and tested as a precursor to introducing beam waveguide (BWG) antennas and Ka-band (32 GHz) frequencies into the NASA/JPL Deep Space Network. For deep space use, system noise temperature is a critical parameter. There are thought to be two major contributors to noise temperature in a BWG system: the spillover past the mirrors, and the conductivity loss in the walls. However, to date, there are no generally accepted methods for computing noise temperatures in a beam waveguide system. An extensive measurement program was undertaken to determine noise temperatures in such a system along with a correspondent effort in analytic prediction. Utilizing a very sensitive radiometer, noise temperature measurements were made at the Cassegrain focus, an intermediate focal point, and the focal point in the basement pedestal room. Several different horn diameters were used to simulate different amounts of spillover past the mirrors. Two analytic procedures were developed for computing noise temperature, one utilizing circular waveguide modes and the other a semiempirical approach. The results of both prediction methods are compared to the experimental data.

Imbriale, W.

Determining Noise Temperatures in Beamwaveguide Systems

A new 34-meter research and development antenna was fabricated and tested as a precursor to introducing beamwaveguide antennas and Ka-band frequencies into the NASA/JPL Deep Space Network. For deep space use, system noise temperature is a critical parameter. There are thought to be two major contributors to noise temperature in a BWG system: the spillover past the mirrors and the conductivity loss in the walls. However, to date, there are no generally accepted methods for computing noise temperatures in a beamwaveguide system. An extensive measurement program was undertaken to determine noise temperatures in such a system along with a correspondent effort in analytic prediction. Utilizing a very sensitive radiometer, noise temperature measurements were made at the cassegrain focus, an intermediate focal point, and the focal point in the basement pedestal room...

Imbriale, W.

A technique for computation of noise temperature due to a beam waveguide shroud

Direct analytical computation of the noise temperature of real beam waveguide (BWG) systems, including all mirrors and the surrounding shroud, is an extremely complex problem and virtually impossible to achieve. Yet the DSN antennas are required to be ultra low-noise in order to be effective, and a reasonably accurate prediction is essential. This article presents a relatively simple technique to compute a real BWG system noise temperature by combining analytical techniques with data from experimental tests. Specific expressions and parameters for X-band (8.45-GHz) BWG noise computation are obtained for DSS 13 and DSS 24, now under construction. These expressions are also valid for various conditions of the BWG feed systems, including horn sizes and positions, and mirror sizes, curvatures, and positions. Parameters for S- and Ka-bands (2.3 and 32.0 GHz) have not been determined; however, those can be obtained following the same procedure as for X-band.

Veruttipong, W.

Gaussian beam and physical optics iteration technique for wideband beam waveguide feed design

The Gaussian beam technique has become increasingly popular for wideband beam waveguide (BWG) design. However, it is observed that the Gaussian solution is less accurate for smaller mirrors (approximately less than 30 lambda in diameter). Therefore, a high-performance wideband BWG design cannot be achieved by using the Gaussian beam technique alone. This article demonstrates a new design approach by iterating Gaussian beam and BWG parameters simultaneously at various frequencies to obtain a wideband BWG. The result is further improved by comparing it with physical optics results and repeating the iteration.

Veruttipong, W.